The Fellowship is a new men’s skincare and grooming brand from model and entrepreneur Andrew Cooper, and brand expert and marketeer, Duncan Morris. The two have come together and combined their years of professional and personal experience in men’s grooming to create a new natural and effective brand created to help men look their best with minimum fuss.

Why did you start The Fellowship and what is the brand about?

We started The Fellowship because we saw a huge gap in the market for a performance-led brand at an accessible price point that used natural ingredients.

Having spent the past 22 years either on a photo shoot or film set, sat in hair and make-up, Andrew learnt first-hand which products worked well and which didn’t. He found that the industry-leading groomers and make-up artists stayed away from men’s brands and either used premium female brands or very simple products. He would head to department stores all over the world to look for products, whether it was a moisturiser or hair product, and found it so hard to navigate the right grooming solutions for men.

Duncan headed up Beauty marketing at Marks & Spencer and saw first-hand how fast the male grooming market was exploding, not only in the UK but around the world.

After years of working together, Andrew and Duncan discussed wanting to provide a solution. They began exploring formulations out in Somerset with their partner apothecary who specialises in natural skincare. And The Fellowship was born.

Did you know each other before working together and how does The Fellowship bring your skills together?

We met through working together on campaigns at Marks & Spencer (Andrew was the model and Duncan was head of marketing). One day over a beer, while shooting in Mexico, we began talking, exploring if we could develop a proposition that would meet the gap in the men’s grooming market.

What did you feel like other grooming brands were missing?

We felt that there was a gap in the market for an accessibly priced natural performance brand that catered for all men. We also saw that often men’s products were overly masculine and heavily scented which was something far from our vision. The Fellowship is built to offer products to every man. We are here to help guide men through the ageing process and help them look after their skin to look and feel their best.

What does the idea of fellowship mean to you as founders, and to the brand?

We understand what it is to be a modern man. To live a fast-paced lifestyle with demands and pressures. Our aim is to support men with the tools they need to look their best and live life to the fullest. The brand’s ambition will always be to support men, building community by championing successful men from all walks of life.

What is The Fellowship’s hero product and what makes it special?

Our hero product is the Advanced Moisturiser. For us, the biggest struggle was finding a great moisturiser that delivered on reducing fine lines and wrinkles. We also wanted a product that would help with problematic skin, so we developed a formulation that is fragrance-free, without leaving it feeling greasy.

How are natural ingredients used in The Fellowship products? And how did you decide which ingredients to use to make your products effective?

We have literally tried every product on the market. We looked at what worked and what didn’t. We spent weeks in the lab exploring natural ingredients and actives that deliver results around hydration and anti-ageing. Developing products that show you in your best light.

Our readers are very time-poor, what grooming advice could you give them to improve their routine with minimal effort?

Build a routine around the morning and evening ideally post shower or bath. It’s really simple, keep your skin clean and hydrated. We recommend that all new customers apply our Advanced Moisturiser twice a day to rejuvenate and hydrate dry and tired skin. If you follow the twice-a-day routine, you will see the results.

What are your ambitions for the future of the brand?

We launch our Essential range on June 14 and then have a busy rest of the year launching Shave & Beard products and extending the face range with eye cream, face scrub and a face oil. The ambition has always been to be a subscription brand and offer tailored grooming boxes to our customers.

The Fellowship Essentials range of Advanced Moisturiser, £25, Energising Body Wash, £15, Strengthening Shampoo, £16, Nourishing Conditioner, £16, and Toning Body Moisturiser, £27, launches today, 14 June. Visit the-fellowship.co.uk to find out more.